Painters, let us unite our voices in protest of Art as expression of Philosophy.
Let others concern themselves with meaning.
Let Modernism, the Post-modern and the Contemporary fade into the pale of History!
Let High Art suffocate itself!
And while we watch it die, let us appreciate that what we do, whilst not concerned with Meaning, is what we Wish to do, what we Must do, and what we are good at doing, whether that is expressing a Feeling or simply painting from Nature.
Is it necessary to separate Painting from High Art?
In order to paint freely, YES.
Should every expression be an expression of something new? Should each painter be limited by everything that has ever been done before? NO!
What point is there of History, if not to learn from it? Let us develop freely! Let us take inspiration from the past! And let us unite and proudly declare, what we do may be a Craft, but it is a Craft we do with Pride!
A thought experiment by a frustrated painter.
I still want to paint, but no longer wish to be an artist.
This is a combination of reading to many artist's manifestos and feeling limited as a painter in the contemporary art world. As art seems to have developed in such a way that everything that has ever been done has become a taboo, while at the same time small galleries everywhere still show fairly traditional paintings, I have come to think the time has come to separate Art from Painting. That way painting is no longer restricted by the label of art and pressure for innovation. Of course I doubt such a change will ever happen in people's minds, but it doesn't have to; a beautiful decoration in someone's home may still be art to everyone except the select few who remain in the Art World.
